Additionally, business owners who start this type of business are in good company. Not only do many people have successful children’s book businesses today, but one of the most successful children’s authors in modern history began by self-publishing her work. Beatrix Potter funded the first runs of both Peter Rabbit and The Tailor of Gloucester. The two stories are popular even to this day.
iSecretShop is real mystery shopping. They have a web site and app. Don’t get discouraged with the first few. It’s based on a points system. The more points you get, the better the shops. You have to take a few little ones and work your way up. Another one is Jancyn. I’ve shopped apartment communities, car dealerships, local yogurt/ice cream shops, restaurants, etc.

Starting a podcast and building authority within your specific niche is an exciting way to grow a personal audience of listeners who regularly engage with your content. Since Apple's podcast store has a built-in audience and ranking system, you may be able to launch your podcast with a high volume of listeners. If that's the case, you'll rise to the top of the rankings and gain a huge amount of exposure.

For instance, if you need a website, why not contract with the tech guy from your day job? Need an accountant? Someone in the accounting department may need income on the side. However, make sure they understand to keep the work separate from their day job, just like you do, and that they’re working for you on a contractual basis. Your agreement should be professional and incorporate a timeline. You should also receive a work order or receipt just as you would from any other contractor.
For many, beekeeping starts as a hobby. It doesn’t take them long, however, to realize what a fascinating and fulfilling career it can be. Beekeeping isn’t just about collecting honey; it’s about getting to know your bees, their behaviors, and their response to the natural environment around them. How rewarding would it be to parlay your passion into a career?
What Employees Say: “VIPKID pays between $14-22 an hour, plus more in incentives some months. Most kids are fun and well behaved. You create your own schedule and work as little or much as you want. The materials are already provided, you just have to review them beforehand and plan out how you want to teach the materials and which props you want to use.” —Current ESL Teacher
Cycling is a popular sport in the United States, with people regularly using bikes for fun, exercise, and transportation. In 2015 alone, 17.4 million bikes were sold in the country. As bikes are used, they occasionally break down -- and most people aren’t well-versed in repairing bicycles. A bike repair business fixes and refurbishes bikes for customers when their rides break down.
This doesn’t mean that if you’re busy you can’t find time to side hustle, it just means that you should calibrate the difficulty of your side hustle based on the amount of time you have. I know many families who work side hustle at night after their kids go to bed and some who even bring their kids along on the weekend. They are able to do it, because they schedule their time well and they just really want it.

Fifty-one percent of millennials have at least occasional side hustles that they rely on for a cash stream outside their primary source of income, finds Bankrate. The personal finance site surveyed a little over 1,000 people across various age groups and income brackets and found that roughly 37 percent of Americans overall engage in a regular side hustle, including 28 percent who perform their side hustle at least once a month, if not more often.

If writing is something you put down as one of your passions, it can definitely work. The first step in this long journey is to discover your niche – a specific theme or topic that most of your content will focus on. The three really broad but most profitable niches are money, relationships, and health and fitness. You can, of course, choose to write about anything that excites you – whether it’s walking as a hobby or upcycling. Just keep in mind that the niche you select needs to be narrow enough to keep your writing efforts focused on building authority and, at the same time, broad enough to capture the interest of a large audience.
Unfortunately, while there is still a ton of WordPress website projects – it’s now more of a commodity service. The best WordPress developers now on UpWork are based in India or the UK. WordPress development becoming a commodity is fine if you want to build a $500 website for your friend’s local business, but it’s a lot tougher to scale. I no longer work on WordPress projects unless I am helping a friend for free, because I don’t enjoy building sites as much as I like doing SEO consulting.
Everyone that buys a painting or has a nice photograph or a portrait made of their family may also need to have that work framed. Framing requires a specialized skill set that includes having craft-person talents, the ability to do simple carpentry, to know how to safely run a table saw, and have a good eye for pleasing aesthetic designs. You will need to understand color combinations and how to make a painting or a photo nicely framed to fit in well with the intended surroundings.

It sounds too good to be true—getting paid to represent your favorite brands at events across the nation. But, if you have a friendly and outgoing personality (a growing social media following helps too), you can forge a potentially paid relationship as a brand ambassador with companies who want to reach other people within your community with this side business idea. As a Brand Ambassador, you do anything from demoing the latest technology, to passing out free swag at music festivals, to going on nationwide tours, to pumping people up as a mascot, and more. Depending upon the gig, you can expect to earn anywhere from $18-$100/hr. You can get started as early as this weekend by joining the Brand Ambassador Facebook group for your nearest major city (e.g. join the "Brand Ambassadors of Seattle" group if you live in/near Seattle). Once you've been approved to the group, you'll get access to daily job postings from big brands and agencies with opportunities in your area. All you need to do is submit your resume and headshot to apply. For a step-by-step guide on how to get hired for the best gigs and the highest pay rates, I recommend checking out The Brand Ambassador Blueprint.

The problem with traditional conferences is that they can be super expensive to run. You need to rent the venue, buy the catering, pay the speakers, hire event staff – those costs add up fast. What if there was a way to host the conference without all of the unnecessary costs? Well, a few smart people figured out that by running the conference virtually you effectively mitigate all of the expenses allowing you to discount ticket prices while still turning a profit and delivering massive value to your audience!
Are there people at your full time job who come in with an expensive coffee each day? If you have a machine at home that could recreate that same beverage each day, offer your services at a reduced rate. I knew a woman who provided coffee for four of her coworkers every day. She bought travel mugs inexpensively and made coffees to her coworkers specifications. They were available every morning, hot and perfect for just $1 a day. This saved her coworkers $3-4 each day and made her money on the side. Plus, she was already making her own coffee, it didn’t ake much extra time in the morning to make a few more.
How can you avoid that? Start a side hustle you can fund through savings -- or better yet, that you don't need to fund. Provide a service that only requires the tools you already have. Sell products you either make or can procure by consignment. Prove to yourself that there is a market -- and that you can serve that market -- before you take on any debt.
I remember staying up until 2am to start my blog on a work night (and I am in bed at 9pm normally!). I was so excited, I couldn’t help myself but go all in and start. This is the type of enthusiasm that works really well with starting a side hustle. The more excited, committed, and focused you are, the more likely you’ll be disciplined and therefore, successful.

Live bands are paid to perform music professionally before audiences in bars, nightclubs, concerts, private parties, corporate events, and other public venues. Peripheral revenue can be generated through the sale of recordings and merchandise. In addition to the group’s musicians, ownership in the business can include its manager and anyone else with a financial stake.

Most Instagram users find themselves using the app in their free time. When you get off work, the last thing on your mind is working more, but using Instagram feels more like fun than hard work. As you spend some time creating the perfect post, you could be earning some major coin from the business whose product/service you’re advertising, and it’ll take very little of your time to do.
If you don’t mind parading yourself around in public places as a side business idea, and enjoy a little attention, then working as a human billboard can pay a surprising amount of dividends. Renting out your beard, for example can earn you as much as $5 a day while having a brand logo tattooed on your shaven head for five years could pay as much as $7,000—though this type of earning opportunity is admittedly rare. This business idea is definitely not for the faint of heart, and is a little extreme for me, but nonetheless it's been done as a side hustle for many people. You can start by holding a placard or wearing a sandwich board. If you think this is a good side business idea, you can go all the way and turn it into a full on small business idea with enough hard work—plus you won't have to deal with all the issues other more complex businesses have to constantly think about (like reducing churn).
What are your skills, what is your knowledge base, and how can you channel your areas of expertise into revenue-generating side businesses? A great side business is one that allows you enough flexibility to pursue your dream startup, while still bringing in a sufficient revenue stream. Maybe, like Lori Cheek, you can sell unwanted items on eBay while also renting out a room via Airbnb, or follow Joseph Howard’s example and keep your corporate job while offering freelance services.
There's a misconception that keeps those with dreams of owning their own business from following their dreams. It's a misconception that's not only false but dangerous to the small business community. It's not true that every entrepreneur sits in a rundown apartment somewhere in Silicon Valley, eats boxes of cheap mac-and-cheese and stays up all night building the next big startup. Most entrepreneurs aren't living in poverty hoping to someday sign the papers for millions of dollars in funding only to see their dreams become the next worldwide craze.

Using your skills for profit is a common trend with all of the best side business ideas. If you're an expert at something, there's likely an audience of people online who would be willing to pay to become an expert in your field—just like you. If you want to take your skills and turn them into an online course that teaches others how to get the same results you've achieved in your life, career, or business, start with How to Create an Awesome Online Course on Udemy, where instructor Miguel Hernandez covers how he makes over $90,000/yr teaching online. You'll learn from more than 8 hours of video instruction.

Many gymnasiums will trade membership and often a bit more for a person willing and able to teach an exercise class. You can also find people who don’t want to go to a gym and train them at home as a personal trainer. If you’re in good shape, this is a great opportunity to earn some extra money, plus it can often lead to additional income with one-on-one instruction opportunities.
If you already have expertise in the technical and artistic sides of web development from your day job, then picking up extra clients on the side is a relatively easy way to start earning extra cash. Since everyone from large corporations to small-time freelancers need websites these days, web designer services are in hot demand. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 28,500 web developer positions will need to be filled by 2022.
If you love to travel and find yourself frequently searching for airfare sales or browsing sites like Lonely Planet, why not monetize your knowledge as a private travel consultant? Start with friends and family who know they can already count on you for cheap flights and amazing activity recommendations. Ask for referrals and sign up on a site that connects you with travelers, such as Plansify. As a Plansify Travel Advisor, you can start connecting with a larger audience of people seeking your advice. Most registered advisors charge $12 to $30 to answer up to three traveler questions, and $50 to $75 for a one-hour Skype session.

Another option for earning a side income is to deliver for PostMates. Similar to working for Uber and Lyft, you can work whenever you want. While the pay might not be enormous, you do have the ability to earn tips. If you're in a highly-trafficked area such as Los Angeles or New York City, this is a great way to earn some cash and you don't even need a car.

Martial Arts, huh? I teach too, and have found that when I want to offer a new class I give a free workshop. If you went around to the non-profits, churches and other type of groups and offer a free 1 hour talk on self defense with a question and answer period you’d get your name out there as the go to person to learn self defense. Set up a page on facebook, instagram on tips for self defense and invite people to follow you. 80% good info and 20% Hey hire me to train you. Bet you’d get a large following within 6 months. Let us know how it goes. Good luck